Fundraiser held for family of woman fatally shot by Border Patrol agent

Valeria "Monique" Alvarado killed in shooting

11:12 AM, Sep 30, 2012

4:16 AM, Oct 1, 2012

The family of a woman shot to death in Chula Vista by a Border Patrol agent who said she ran into him with a car held a fundraiser Sunday to raise money to bury the mother of five.

KGTV

Valeria Tachiquin-Alvarado.

Copyright 2014 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

CHULA VISTA, Calif. -
The family of a woman shot to death in Chula Vista by a Border Patrol agent who said she ran into him with a car held a fundraiser Sunday to raise money to bury the mother of five.

The car wash was held at Rally's at the intersection of Third Avenue and Moss Street in Chula Vista.

Valeria "Monique" Alvarado, 32, who grew up in the area and lived in Southcrest, was fatally shot through her windshield about 1 p.m. Friday on Moss Street near Oaklawn Avenue.

Border Patrol Deputy Chief Rodney Scott said the agent was in the area to serve a warrant. He apparently was not in uniform.

The agent was carried several hundred yards on the hood of the Honda Alvarado was driving, then he opened fire, "fearing for his life," Scott said.

Alvarado family members told the U-T San Diego the woman had five children aged 3 to 17 years old. They told 10News she was in the area helping a friend move.

"It's heartbreaking," Antonio Tachiquin, Alvarado's brother, told 10News on Sunday. "Where do we go from here? What do I tell her children?"

He hopes to get those answers from law enforcement, who would not say much during an open investigation like this one.

"They send us to Chula Vista PD and Chula Vista sends us back to them," he said. "It's a back and forth. We just want answers."

Alvarado's husband had a hard time understanding what happened.

"Where's the evidence my wife threatened a trained officer?" Gilbert Alvarado asked in comments published by the U-T San Diego Saturday. "I want justice. They said they didn't know what had brought her to that neighborhood."

Chula Vista police told the U-T the Honda was going west closer to Broadway when the agent was struck.

Hector Salazar, who lives nearby, told the U-T he was standing at his mailbox when he heard a man yell, "Stop!" He said he saw a man on the hood of a two-door car, aiming a gun at the windshield. He said heard five shots.

Witness Ashley Guiobau told 10News, "I see the car just stop and the guy walking from the back of the car and coming to the front of the car and just shooting at the car without saying anything," she said.

Border Patrol agents would not say who they were looking to arrest when the shooting happened.

The U.S. Inspector General's Office will review the investigation being done by Border Patrol agents and Chula Vista police.

A vigil for Alvarado is planned for Monday night.

Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. City News Service contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.